The Cove Theatre is located in downtown La Jolla and should not be confused with the La Jolla Village Cinemas, another theater in the same city also owned by the Landmark Theatres chain. Built in 1948 and owned by Landmark since 1983, the theater is a gorgeous single-screen affair, decorated in the sort of lavish style of the time.

The Movies: The Cove plays mainly independent films in current release and complements Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas and La Jolla Village Cinemas in that they all play similar movies. It's hard to peg down anything more specific than that, as Landmark rotates movies through the theater at the rate of about one show a week, and there is a good variety of types and genres represented.

Atmosphere & Aesthetics: Considering its age, the theater is very well maintained and quite nice. The sole auditorium is huge and is done in a sort of amber-orange color. The seats are made of some sort of plastic or vinyl like material, and seem like they'd be at home in a '50s diner. There's also a huge curtain that covers the large screen which is drawn up before each show. A nice touch that adds to the atmosphere. It really feels like the original builders wanted to build a full-fledged movie palace but couldn't quite afford it. The Cove does serve as a nice facsimile, and is an enjoyable place to see independent films in San Diego.

Other Information: Parking can be a little tricky if you go on a Friday or Saturday night, as the streets surrounding downtown La Jolla are fairly busy. You may have to park a few blocks away and hoof it in, but it's a nice neighborhood and you may have fine browsing the all-too-trendy shops and restaurants that infest the area.